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Consumers Energy halts projects statewide after fatal house explosion

Consumers Energy says it has halted projects throughout Michigan that involve the same drilling method used before a Royal Oak house explosion that killed a 58-year-old man.

The utility said in a statement Thursday that employees and contractors are conducting a detailed review of procedures on projects involving boring. Upon completion of the review, the utility says it will resume those drilling operations.

The subsidiary of Jackson-based CMS Energy Corp. has said that natural gas leaking from a line serving the home in Royal Oak may have caused the Feb. 27 blast. Consumers Energy crews had been working for several days to replace a gas main on the street and may have damaged the line.

Daniel Malczynski died in the blast, which leveled his house and damaged several others.